When Giants Fall
by alpomepro
Summary: The Americans blame Justinian the First for the destruction during the Third East Terran war. The first World War breaks out when nations begin to choose sides. Extremely short.
1. Chapter 1

When Giants Fall

Justinian I stepped into the auditorium. All around him, the talking ceased. The leader of The Dark Lands stared out into a sea of smiles and frowns, of friends and foes. Out of the corner of his eye, Alexander caught a glimpse of Isabella waving at him to get his attention. He quickly walked over and took a seat next to her. "Where have you been? The meeting is about to start!"

"Sorry, I had to deal with barbarians before I left." Before Isabella could reply, an attendant called out, "All stand for Secretary-General Washington!" Justinian clenched his teeth, '_I_ should be Secretary-General.' Washington looked around the assembly for a moment before waving his hand. Everyone sat down. Washington cleared his throat and began, "We are here today to prosecute Justinian I whose actions, which caused the Third East Terran War, have reached a point to where they will no longer be tolerated. His crimes against the entire world will be paid for now."

"WHAT!" Justinian thundered, "My actions? _My _actions? If I remember correctly, _Secretary-General_, it was the actions of America and its leaders that caused not just the Third East Terran War, but the others as well! The other two leaders of the American Trinity, President Roosevelt and King Lincoln, began to object but were quieted by Washington. The Secretary-General turned back to the accused leader, "I do not see how you can blame us. We have eyewitness accounts and photographs of what appears to be Byzantine warheads in Fall Out Valley. Fall Out Valley is what is left of Karakorum, the original capital of the Mongolian Civilization. _You_, Justinian I, are the man who persuaded Mongolia's leader, the honorable Genghis Kahn, that it was America who fired those ICBMs."

The auditorium exploded with sound as enraged leaders leaped up and began shouting curses and insults at both Justinian and Washington. Genghis Kahn leaped down to the floor, pulled his sword from its scabbard, and attacked Justinian, bent on taking revenge. From the shadows leaped Justinian's personal guard, Lloyd, who parried the Kahn's attack with his own blade and gave him a solid kick to the stomach. The Byzantine king walked over to his Mongolian opponent and took his sword. He sighed,"No chance of being Secretary-General now. Ah well…let's get out of here." All around, arguments have turned into fist fights, Washington shouting at everyone to calm down. No one noticed as Justinian and Lloyd slipped out of the room and made their way to Justinian's private jet.

One month later, the world's First World War began.

**A/N: This was written last year when I had some free time during class. I based it on one random occurrence while playing civ 4 when one turn, we were all buddies, sitting in circles and singing Kumbya and all that stuff, and then in one turn, we were all at each other's throats like someone had flipped a kill switch or something. Anyway, if you're interested in seeing this little story continue, tell me and I'll try to cook something up.**

**Night ~ Alex**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If I had thought people would actually read that last chapter, I would have tried a little harder. Anyway, since I have in fact been asked to continue, I'll try and pick up where I left off. All chapters are going to be about this length, since I would like to focus on Alexander II. Of course, that probably means this will update a bit more often.**

When Giants Fall: Chapter Two

Washington stormed towards his thrown, his anger obvious to everyone in the palace, _Curse Justinian! It isn't bad enough that we are now fighting the largest war in history; our argument destroyed the United Nations! All of my power, GONE!_ He stopped and pulled a large portrait of himself off the wall, and threw it through a window. He took the time to watch as, down below; barely clothed people crawled out of the darkness and began to fight over the painting for material for clothes, fire fuel, and possibly food. Washington smirked, _Savages_. He continued on his way, knowing that, however bad his life was sometimes, he had the means to make the lives of millions even worse.

King Lincoln stood by Washington's throne, patiently waiting for his "partner" to arrive. While in name they shared power, it was obvious to everyone, except maybe Roosevelt, that Washington was the man in charge. Lincoln looked out the window straight across from the throne out at the gleaming mansions of the "upper class." _More fools_, he told himself, _Washington holds all the cards. The land, the money, the status, just empty lies he borrows out until you're useless to him._ _Then he'll throw you into darkness of the "middle class", who are hardly human at all. The only thing worse would be serving in the army or, _Lincoln shuddered,_ the Slums._

The Slums are cities beneath cities, where criminals, the extremely poor, and Washington's enemies are sent. A true dystopia, being sent to the capital's Slum is a worse punishment than death. People sent there are no longer considered human, and their actions are akin to those of beasts. Not one man has entered a Slum and returned the same person, only empty shells who no longer know what life truly is. _No matter what_, Lincoln determined,_ I will not let myself be sent there._

Washington strode in to the room, mentally planning his campaign against the Vikings, who were now leading a third faction in the war, "Ah, Lincoln. It's good that you're here. I need you to take these war plans down to my generals. They will be pleased to know that they will no longer be focusing on the armies of Napoleon. Fighting him was a lost cause anyway. Beginning tomorrow, our focus is the Archipelago Union."

"Very well." Lincoln took the plans and made his exit, wondering what would drive Washington to attack Archipelago. Just two nights ago, he had been laughing about how small of a threat they were. Something terrible must have come up to convince him to go there.

Washington smiled as he reread the note sent to him by his science advisor.

_Our research has led us to the conclusion that there is enough uranium at Archipelago to restart, and double the size of, the Mech Program! Perhaps they would come in handy against the French and Byzantines?_

Washington laughed, "Oh yes, very handy indeed!"

End

**A/N: And now you know the true extent of Washington's evil. More on that to come. I hope this chapter was a little more pleasing then the last. The next few will be like this one, a little background for the major countries and their plots. As for the mechs, they came from the Next War mod packaged with Beyond the Sword, for those who didn't know. Large walker robots that counted as national units. Quite fun. I'm not entirely sure if uranium was required or not, but if you feel strongly about it, I'll make it right. Anyway, I've always enjoyed creating large archipelagos away from the rest of the action of Terra maps, and putting two or three friendly civs on them, see how they do. That's where the AU came from, in case you were interested.**

**Uh, yeah. New chapter soon, hopefully. Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

When Giants Fall

Chapter Three

Justinian stood in front of the other four leaders that represented the Northern Alliance. Napoleon of France, Isabella of Spain, Catherine of Russia, and Alexander the Great of Greece sat around a large table covered by maps of the entire world as well as specific empires and landmasses. They were in Justinian's study, a large room with comfortable chairs, well carved wooden walls, and a great fireplace that produced both warmth and light. Above the fire were two great flags, the one on the left featured a grey background with a golden X with a P of the same shade running down its middle, creating two perfect halves. The second displayed a bright yellow cross on a blue flag.

They were the original battle standards of Justinian and Napoleon respectively, salvaged from the killing grounds of the climactic battle of Orleans where, after hundreds of years of fighting, the opposing generals had called for a cease fire. Byzantine and France then worked together to rebuild the each other. The two mighty nations, once the worst of enemies, became the closest of friends, which was solidified in their agreement to a permanent alliance in 1903. Catherine was the leader of a revolution that brought down Peter and his tyrannical rule over the jungle nation of Russia in 1349. She's been queen ever since, making her unique to the other world leaders, who have been ruling since the dawn of civilization. Isabella was empress of Spain and queen of the Celts after the defeat of Boudicca in 351 BC. Alexander had no combat experience, but his nation's economy was rivaled by no other, making the Greeks a valuable supplier to the others.

Justinian looked over his companions, who represented the part of the world that has sided with him, "Before we begin, I would like to thank all of you for taking up arms to fight Washington alongside me."

"Have no worries, my friend," Napoleon smiled, "even if I was not brought into this forcibly, I would do anything to crush that American worm."

"And don't believe for a second we wouldn't be right behind him!" Justinian smiled at Isabella, who smiled back. The Byzantine leader began to detail the plan, "So far we've been able to hold back against Washington's armies, but the time has come to take the offensive. The Archipelago nations have refused us access to their uranium mines, so we must take it by force. I know for a fact that all nuclear weapons have been destroyed since the Third East Terran War, but with uranium still in existence, I know exactly where Washington is going."

"Justinian, I will not stand here and allow you to assault Archipelago," Catherine stood up. Alexander nodded his agreement, "You will not win the world's support by stooping to Washington's level."

"But without uranium-"

"No buts. If you're that desperate for uranium, find another source. Otherwise, we'll fight this without nuclear weapons."

"…Very well." Justinian walked up to the wall and hit the buzzer, "Get Montezuma on the phone, I need to discuss some important matters with him." Napoleon watched silently, eyebrow raised. Montezuma was the leader of the Archipelago Union. Isabella leaned forward, "What are you planning?"

"If we can't fight them for the uranium," Justinian smiled, "We can at least keep Washington away from it too, right?"

Napoleon grinned, "_Oui._"

End

**A/N: Hello, happy to see me? I'm happy to see you, because it means you've found this story interesting enough to keep on reading. So thank you, you are awesome.**

**Back to the chapter. We've now met our protagonists, as unhero like some of them might be. Of course, they're all involved in politics, so good could they have been to begin with? I always hate finding out that I lack an important resource, and the only way to get would be bulldozing through some other nation that for some reason or other is under the protection of my allies. Always a pain. Until next time! Ciao!**


	4. Chapter 4

When Giants Fall  
>Chapter Four<p>

**A/N: I'm back.**

The jungles surrounding the American city New York were alive with activity. Thousands of workers were cutting down the massive trees that had stood there since settlers first colonized the area thousands of years ago. Lincoln and Roosevelt watched the workers from atop a tall observation tower, the former in solemn silence and the latter in hardly contained excitement. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Roosevelt grinned at his companion, "The things the American people can do when united like this is amazing, eh Lincoln?"  
>Lincoln glared the shorter man, but before he could reply, a particularly large tree was toppled, filling the air with the sound of thunder. Roosevelt laughed aloud, grabbing a megaphone, and shouted words of encouragement, "Good work, everyone! You're making your country proud!" Below, many of the workers raised their fists, some perhaps in cheer, but others Lincoln assumed were topped with a middle finger. Unknown to naïve Roosevelt, most of these men are actually slaves, prisoners of war that Washington conscripted to massive labor forces for projects such as this. "Honest" Abe sighed, "I hope this plan of his will make up for the time we're putting into it."<br>"Of course it will!" Roosevelt exclaimed. He paused suddenly, face scrunching up as he began to think, then asked sheepishly, "What was the plan again?"

"Roosevelt," Lincoln rolled his eyes, "how do these things pass your mind so quickly? Washington plans on building a new city here devoted to scientific research to ensure our military stays at the cutting edge of weapons technology."  
>"Ah, of course. But how will this city be any stronger in science than older cities?"<br>"That's the other part of this plan I'm nervous about. He wants to move all of our greatest scientific minds there so they can work together and, hopefully, faster."  
>Roosevelt was taken aback, "But what would happen if the city was taken?"<br>Lincoln snorted, "I asked the same, but Washington believes that to be an improbability. I don't know what defenses he has in mind, but he's confident in their abilities."  
>"Well," Roosevelt nodded, convincing himself, "Washington wouldn't take the risk without a good idea on how to protect the city. I'm sure it will be fine."<br>Lincoln sighed and shook his head. No matter how much he wanted to snap at Roosevelt, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The youngest of America's leaders, Roosevelt truly believed in America's grand lie as a place of freedom and happiness and Washington's façade of kindness. How such a man ever became a leader of anything was beyond him, but Lincoln liked that there was still some innate goodness in this hole of a world power.

He turned towards a technician who was intently studying the plans for the new city, "How are things coming along?"  
>The man snapped up, surprised out of his concentration, "Uh, sectors 2, 3, and 7 are all behind schedule due to wild animal attacks, but otherwise things are going smoothly," came the reply, the man's voice thick with accent.<br>"Good, good," Lincoln withdrew a pen and note pad from his jacket and quickly jotted a note down, handing it to the technician, "Take this down to Mr. Jenningston at sector 1, then return here."  
>"Understood," the worker said and left the room. Lincoln frowned. Something about the man's accent created a sense of unease. It sounded familiar, but he was unsure where. His mind returned to when Justinian had shouted his accusations against Washington, which, Lincoln reminded himself bitterly, were right on all accounts. <em>Wait a minute.<em> His eyes widened as he realized where he recognized the accent from. _Justinian had the same accent! Then that means…_"Byzantine spy!"  
>"What?" Roosevelt looked around, bewildered.<br>Lincoln ignored him and pointed towards the technician, who had broken into a run at the sound of his exclamation, "Stop that man!"

Two guards at the end of the hall drew their firearms and aimed at the spy. Without hesitation, the Byzantine threw himself out the closest window. Lincoln ran to the window and looked down expecting a crumpled form at the tower's base. To his amazement, the spy not only survived but was also making a dash for the jungle. Lincoln ran back to the observation deck and took the megaphone from Roosevelt. Putting it at full volume, he turned towards the guards and workers near the fleeing spy and shouted, "Stop that Byzantine spy!" The guards turned and prepared their weapons. Lincoln sighed in relief, the game is over. Or so it had seemed.

As the first guard readied his gun, one of the workers stood up and, with what looked like little effort, buried the axe he had been using to cut the trees into more portable chunks into the soldier's back. The sharp cry of pain stopped everyone in their tracks but the spy, who used the distraction to disappear in the foliage. The worker pulled his axe out of his victim and shouted in angry German, "_Freedom!"_ The rest of the workers took up the cry, even though most probably had little to no clue what he had said. The prisoners and laborers rose as one and attacked the guards, turning the fields into a massacre. Even with their rifles, the Americans couldn't stop the superior numbers and quickly began to retreat.

Lincoln clicked his tongue, his frustration rising, "Come, Roosevelt, we're leaving."  
>"What? We can't just leave these men here to die!"<br>"We have to if we want to survive."  
>"But…" Roosevelt grimaced.<br>"Look," Lincoln stared him in the eye, "I'm not too happy with it either, but we aren't fighters. Those men will tear us apart if we go out there. The best we can do is head back and tell Washington so he can prepare an army. You've seen war before, not everyone can be saved." Roosevelt stood stock still for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. The two made their way to a lone jet waiting to take them to the capital. Lincoln turned back to survey the camp once more, _For a spy to escape with our plans _and _an uprising to begin so early in the war effort was not taken into consideration. I hope this security of Washington's is everything he claims._

_Or we're just a dead nation that doesn't know it yet._

**A/N: Not too bad for my return chap, eh? Anyway, this chapter looks at something I can't help but hate.**

**Spies.**

**Why is it that even my best pals feel they have to spy on me and make my cities miserable? I mean, ignoring the war declarations, city razing, insults, genocide…extortion…nuking…kidnappings…**

**I'm going to shut up now.**

**Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys later!**


	5. Chapter 5

****

**When Giants Fall**

In the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, night arrived quietly, ushering in the peace that comes after a long day of hard work. Iron cast street lamps across the city created small islands of warm light on cobblestone streets set down thousands of years ago. A lone figure made his way through the darkness, a bounce in his step and a song on his lips. Gregory had finally made it home after his daring escape from New York, the American plans for the new city in his grasp. The spy was positively beaming as he made his way to the home of Justinian, a nod of the head for every man he met, a tip of the hat for every lady, and a bow and blown kiss for the pretty ones. 

In the distance, Justinian's palace came into view. Gregory slowed to a stop and checked his watch. _8:41, so I've still got time!_ He took a right off of the city's main street and made his way through the city's business center. Massive sky scrapers of steel, concrete, and glass were all the Byzantine could see when he arched his neck to look straight up into the sky. The city buildings cast off brilliant lights, as if they were great Christmas trees, which made navigating the streets a simple task. The spy moved swiftly, fearing what would happen if his report was late, but also anticipating the sight he would see when he finally reached his destination. As neared he neared the palace, Gregory turned right again, heading down to the harbor. This part of the city was a complete contrast to the one he had just left. There were no lights coming from the buildings at all. But it was far from feeling dead. A cacophony of power tools, laughter, and hard work filled the air as Gregory went by, and he could see men, women, and even children working by flashlight in order to get their projects done.

Eventually, Gregory reached the harbor, the quiet waters swaying softly with the wind. On the far bank Gregory could pick out the subtle shapes of hundreds and thousands of tubes. Great banners hung above them, moving in time with the water. Gregory sat down at the bank of the harbor and smiled, beginning to feel excited for tomorrow.

"It's already looking fantastic, wouldn't you say?"

Gregory nearly leaped into the air, surprised by the familiar voice. Behind him, Justinian was smirking, "I saw you back in the city and when you started moving in this direction, I tailed behind." The Byzantine ruler walked over and sat down next to where Gregory had been sitting before he was startled. Justinian gestured for Gregory to return to his original position, "Since we're both here, you might as well tell me what you've got now. Besides, talking is more relaxing outside than that stuffy old palace anyway. Accepting his king's offer, Gregory sat down, handed over the American blue prints, and quickly relayed what he had heard and seen. Justinian sighed, shaking his head, "Slaves and even prisoners of war? I can't believe how far Washington is willing to go anymore." He looked into the sky, "Ah well, I guess that's just something we'll worry about later. In the meantime, it looks like we've got a celebration tomorrow!" Justinian returned his gaze earthwards and surveyed the opposite bank as Gregory had, "I can't believe it's already this time of year again. I guess even when you've lived as long as I have, birthdays just have a way of sneaking up on you."  
>"Sir?" Gregory looked at him questioningly. For a man claiming to have lived long, the king looked as if he were still in his thirties. Justinian looked at him with faint confusion before smiling, "Oh yeah, you're relatively new to the game, aren't you?"<p>

"The game?"

"This game," Justinian gestured into the air, "A game of thrones and empires, treaties and wars. It's been going on for thousands of years now, but always with the same players."

"I…see…" Gregory was still confused, but wasn't sure how to continue the conversation.

Justinian laughed, "I guess your next mission will have to be about learning all of this. Next month, head out to the Egyptian province and find Erika, one of our senior spies. I've been having her dig up some new possible information; because sometimes this mystery confuses even me, and I've been involved from the get go!"

The Byzantine king stood up, "But first, enjoy yourself, tomorrow especially! A We Love the King Day celebration here in Constantinople is something you should never miss out on."

With that and a wave of his hand, Justinian left Gregory alone to ponder.

End of Chapter

**A/N: Ah, I'm back! Sorry if you've been holding out on this being updated for the past 14 months. But it's back!**


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